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1. Field of Invention
This invention is primarily used on a tennis court to keep tennis balls that have been hit into the tennis net from rolling into the playing area and becoming a safety issue.
2. Description of Prior Art
Tennis is a sport that can be played by two people in singles or four people in doubles. More players can participate on the court in lessons. In some lesson situations as many as ten players or more could be on the court. One of the consistent problems all players face is the tennis ball that has been hit into the net. In singles, doubles or tennis lessons, the ball that is hit into the net usually rolls out of the net and into the playing area causing a safety issue. Play needs to be immediately stopped or interrupted to clear the potential hazard.
One inventor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,268 to Eric B. Langslet, 4 Hilton Pl., Montvale, N.J. 07645 (Dec. 12, 1989), suggests using two smaller nets on either side of the main tennis net that are separated by two plastic spacers located in the center area of the net Having two plastic spacers on the court would be hazardous to any player if they should fall on it, step on it, or run into it. The safety of one aspect is nullified by the danger of the center spacers on the other. The spacers would hold the center portion of the smaller nets away from the tennis net but, as the smaller nets got closer to the tennis posts, the ball capturing area would be very small and inefficient.
Due to the rope or cable being wrapped around the net posts with no tension being added, the rope or cable will sag between the center spacers and the net posts thus not capturing the balls with the same consistency as the shots are missed further from the center of the net.
Also, the C-shaped clamping system used to hold the nets to the tennis posts would not fit larger or smaller net posts nor net posts that are square. It would also be a serious problem to use the C-clamp method when there are other parts of the tennis posts themselves that would interfere with it such as the tennis crank and the tennis net cable. Lastly, the C-clamp method would also be very difficult to put up and take down requiring additional tools such as plyers and wrenches.
Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,366 to Joseph A. Bartasius (Jan. 23, 1990), has a ball capturing net that replaces the normal tennis net. There are two meshwork nets that are suppose to capture the tennis balls when they hit the meshwork of one and fall through and get captured between the meshwork of the two nets. This system would not be reliable because the tennis ball may not hit the correct opening of the meshwork and rebound back into the court or the ball may not be hit with enough velocity to make it pass through the meshwork. It would also be difficult to remove the tennis balls that do get trapped between the two nets. The meshwork would have to be lifted by hand and the balls would have to be pulled out by hand or with a tennis racquet. Lastly, the time to weave, produce and the expense of a complicated system like this would be quite great and it would be very difficult to remove the proposed tennis net by the inventor and put on a normal tennis net.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,226 to Peter A. Cavanagh (Aug. 25, 1992) is a ball recovery system that is placed near the back fence of a tennis court. It is used to recover balls that are hit over the tennis net and need to be recovered at the back of the court. Balls going into the tennis net are not discussed.
U.S. Pat. No. 269,692 to Tsugio Hirabayashi and Michio Nakai (Jul. 12, 1983) is an ornamental design for a tennis practice net. The practice net is used similar to a backboard where the ball is hit against it and it rebounds to the player. Balls going into a tennis net are not discussed.
The objects and advantages of the safety nets system are:
a) The safety nets run parallel for the whole length of the tennis net thus giving it consistency in capturing the balls that are hit into the center of the net or even eighteen feet off of center or more.
b) The safety nets are suspended by a tensioned cable or rope so there are no dangerous metal or plastic parts located in the playing area for players to fall on, trip on, or become a safety issue.
c) The safety nets system can be installed on round or square net posts of varying diameters or sizes making it universally adaptable to any tennis net post.
d) The tensioning device can be any device that can create tension on the rope or cable in order to keep the safety nets up. Some tensioning devices could be, but not limited to, hand wenches, tennis cranks, ratchets, etc.
e) The safety nets system is self contained so there are no nuts and bolts, etc. to have to take off or put on.
f) The safety nets system is easily installed or taken down in minutes because of the dynamics of the tensioning system. There are no clamps, screws, ties, etc.
g) The height of the safety nets can be adjusted for personal preference or set higher if the court underneath needs to be cleaned.
h) The over all size of the safety nets system is very handy. It can be stored in a small duffel bag and carried easily by one person.
i) Various types of netting can be used from high quality, very expensive netting to less expensive and more cost efficient netting thus making it affordable for everyone.
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
The safety nets are held up parallel on both sides of the tennis net by a tensioned rope or cable making it a safe and efficient system in keeping tennis balls from rolling into the playing area and becoming a safety issue.